Senior Staff

Kenneth M. Smith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Ken is the founder and Chairman of Strategic Partnerships. He has more than 30 years of experience in building national and international partnerships between the public and private sectors. Ken served as the Chairman of the National Commission for Employment Policy under President Reagan, as the Vice Chairman of the National Council on the Education of Disadvantaged Children under President Nixon, and as a member of the White House staff. He is one of the founders and president since inception of Jobs for America's Graduates, the nation's largest non-profit dedicated to helping at-risk youth graduate from high school and go on to employment and higher education. Mr. Smith began his career as Chief Education Advisor to Governor Pete DuPont of Delaware.

Jim Koeninger, Ph.D., Vice Chair and Executive Vice President

Jim brings nearly three decades of consulting experience with Fortune 1000 clients in pursuit of federal and state grants and in the implementation of government partnership strategies for Honeywell, Allstate, and Bank of America, among many others. He also plays a leadership role in serving non-profit clients such as Jobs for America's Graduates. A Ph.D. graduate of The Ohio State University, Jim has taught courses in Marketing and Education at universities in Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma. He has authored an assortment of books, articles, handbooks, curriculum materials, and e-learning courses.

Karen Koeninger, Vice President

Karen serves as Vice President of Strategic Partnerships LLC and as a member of the Board of Directors. Karen manages the day-to-day operations of the company's Dallas office. She oversees the field operations of Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG), an organization managed by Strategic Partnerships that serves 60,000 young people in 30 states. She is also the Associate Director of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), an 80,000-member national career and technical education organization for students pursuing careers in the health professions. Previously, Karen taught at the secondary level and worked at the Oklahoma State Department of Career and Technical Education as an Assistant State Supervisor. Karen has extensive experience with student organizations and has conducted programs for teachers and students at state, regional, and national levels. She received a Master of Science from Oklahoma State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Katherine Travis, Senior Vice President

Katherine serves as Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships LLC (SPLLC). Katherine manages the day-to-day operations of the company's Virginia office along with the financial practices of the organization. She also serves as the Director of Finance for Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG), an organization managed by Strategic Partnerships that serves 60,000 young people in 30 states. Prior to joining SPLLC, Katherine worked in both public and private accounting. She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Virginia Tech.

Robert Larrea, Vice President, Government Partnerships

Robert brings more than two decades of experience in helping public and private organizations involved in the national workforce system. Prior to joining SPLLC, he was Deputy Director in the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, based in Dallas, Texas. In that role he provided technical, financial and policy advice to Workforce Boards, state and local governments, and other users and managers of the public workforce system. Prior to that, he was a Project Manager with the Houston Housing Authority, and a Planning Manager for the Houston Private Industry Council. Robert earned a Master's Degree in Political Science from the New School of Social Research.